Now, HERE, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!
-- The Red Queen in Alice Through the Looking Glass

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Stateless

I go to Curves. Those of you familiar with the place know that Curves pipes in music, all sorts of music. As long as it's peppy, you'll hear a variety of dance, country, pop, 50's bubblegum, surf music--whatever. I usually don't pay much attention. The other day I was rotating to the next machine when I heard a song I haven't heard since the mid-80s--New Toy by Lena Lovich. I would not have thought of Lena as mainstream fodder. How quaint and antiquated I feel. Perhaps I'll next hear God Save the Queen or London Calling as I'm doing my bicep curls. This got me thinking about my favorite albums of all time, which in turn made me think about how my musical tastes seem to have ossified before the 90s hit:

1. Still, by Joy Division2. The Queen Is Dead, by the Smiths3. Aeon, by Dead Can Dance4. Avalon, by Roxy Music5. The Unforgettable Fire, by U26. Low Life, by New Order7. The Dreaming, by Kate Bush8. Scary Monsters, by David Bowie

At various times I've made an attempt to plunge into the currents of new music and surfaced with a few items. Recently I picked up a copy of PASTE on the 100 greatest living songwriters. I take comfort that I recognize most of the names, even if I've never really listened to them. Others I have never heard of in my life: Sufjan Stevens, Conor Oberst, Stephen Malkmus, Alejandro Escovedo, Sam Beam. The accompanying CD is also full of people I've never heard of: Elf Power, Golden Smog, Janove Otteson. And on and on. Does anyone actually have time to keep up with all this?

PS: Firecracker is much better now. Whatever the problem was, it seems to have resolved itslef.

Yeah- I've noticed that most of the music they pipe into the grocery stores around here is vintage '80s. Guess I'm not exactly on the cutting edge anymore, huh? I figure my kiddos will start listening to their own music within the next five years and then I'll be in the know again.

Wow, you start talking about God Save the Queen and London Calling...were you a 80s punker? God bless you; you make me wanna get out my old Clash LPs. But no turntable these days...but wait...there, I'm cranking "Should I Stay or Shuold I Go on itunes! :)

I'm a dinosaur, but I try to keep up with the new music to some extent, and I have to second the motion that Sufjan Stevens is great!

I'm about to stop going to Curves again - just because I get so fracking bored- but I get a kick out of some of the music. Like you, I find myself chortling sometimes at the selections that come on that tape.

And of the rest of your list, I, too, listened to the Smiths, Roxy Music and U2. But my all time, to die for guy was Bowie. I had the Scary Monsters poster on my wall for years. And every single one of his albums. On vinyl, people. Then on CD.

Nguyen, my hubby, was more into the techno stuff... so he loved the rest of your list!